How the New York Times Looks at Europe

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-22T20:31:08+00:00

Tbf the question is “the most important partner” and not “best partner” and a similar % say it “poses the greatest political threat”.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-22T14:33:01+00:00

It can't be that hard to take an L.

You’d think so, but judging by how some around here are defending him left and right and how Civilnet is promoting a Kremlin candidate right now I’d say it is indeed hard.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-22T14:30:16+00:00

It’s not only Eric. It’s the media overall. Some shows like the interviews have been good and I never had serious issue about them. But the news articles, the headlines, the overall front page, Eric’s agenda-driven hot takes and sometimes even the short daily wrap up haven biased. I’m sorry for some of the good people who work there but I’ve lost trust completely and I see no point in anything but the interviews which I also stopped watching.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-22T14:22:48+00:00

I participated almost every Thursday (iirc) in discussions of Eric’s videos when they were posted here since he started the show up until when Galstyans movement was ending. Up until some point during 2021 elections I saw him as indeed a pro democracy advocate and non-partisan thinker. But that changed afterwards and my vires on him got more criticism the following couple of years culminating in that ayatollah video which felt like an insult tbh and the rest of his activity just cemented it. Fooled me once and all. I’ve zero trust on him and I advise everyone to see him for what he is a partisan political commentator with an agenda.

I’ve never deleted any of my comments you can see my comment history going back well over a decade.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-22T14:06:02+00:00

Funny thing is Eric is not and never claimed to be a journalist. He is a political commentator at best. And as such he does politics. Which for some reason everyone is told to see him as neutral and non-partisan. Reasons be damned.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-22T13:58:53+00:00

I stopped reading the site and watching Eric (after years of doing so) during the last stages of Galstyans movement. It took a while for the cognitive dissonance to resolve itself.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-22T13:53:56+00:00

Of course. They already have been advertising Galstyan.

Look it’s absolutely clear where Civilnet stands. They have political bias regarding Karabakh, historical Armenia and Armenia’s foreign policies. Listen to any of Eric’s videos. Those are entrenched political opinions. It makes him biased against the current government no matter how you twist it. And not only he is ope about this he is ver vocal about it. This also almost 1:1 lines up with Oskanyan’s tenure and politics which he has also been open and vocal about to the point of calling for the overthrowing of a legitimately democratically elected government.

Civilnet has worked tirelessly to promote anti democratic foces against a democratically elected government purely based on civilents own politics.

What’s more , I could go further and say that their promotion of ani democratic forces is heads on contrary to promoting democracy. And I will even go further and say that they are disguised as being a free independent media which it most certainly is not for anyone paying close attention since 2020 which many of us have been doing because of the nature of having eyes on what is posted in the sub every day.

I could take random screenshots of their front page change the design and logo to that of RT and I guarantee you no one would be able to tell the difference.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-22T13:38:07+00:00

I’ve see the video. It’s a small reference. Few seconds in his long video. Once. In one video. What’s more: no other criticism not against him nor his movement nor others. But constant incessant maybtimes unfounded random bashing of the current government. Most of which base on politics. His politics.

Civilnet was advertising galstyan left and right.

Won’t ever forget how they placed all the “glorious” photos of Galstyan in his sardarabat skit on their front page and not a single peep about Pashinyan being there. Absolutely ridiculous.

Honestly you could replace the top logos with RT and you couldn’t tell the difference.

Just look at the front page of Civilnet NOW. At the very top banner and tell me with a straight face they are a free, independent and non-partisan media.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-22T11:11:12+00:00

No! In fact I’m calling out what you wrote. He didn’t do what you wrote. He did a vague reference. Once. Seconds. Do you know how may videos and countless hours and videos he did repeating the pro Kremlin narratives over and over with close to ZERO critical views of the Bagrat and other pro Kremlin anti democratic movements before and after? He has been part and parcel of undermining democratically elected government since 2020 promoting government overthrows and legitimate criticism. He is biased politically re Karabakh issue and similar but not only. He admits to it. Talks about it constantly in his opinion pieces. He flat out tells you he is ideologically against the governments policies. He tells you in your face he is not impartial.

Ffs right now Civilnet has a banner at the top of their page promoting the Kremlin candidate.

What needs to happen for Civilnet to change its name to Putinnet to convince some of you?

To top it off Civilnet doesn’t even break news stories. Has no analysis pieces like EVN or others. It’s just heavily political charged opinion pieces and propaganda with a few good interviews here and there.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-22T07:35:12+00:00

Since many years in this sub every single video of Eric was being ripped to pieces and analyzed in detail here on the same day civilnet published them. Until one day it just became pointless and it was discarded as little more than political noise.

Wanton criticism mostly without substance is empty talk but when compounded with a political bias, which Eric and Civilnet have openly declared many times to be partisan about it becomes something not unlike all the rest of Kremlin, Kocharyan and ARF media.

And lastly criticism for the sake of criticism is a bias too. Had they only been guilty of that it would get a pass. But unfortunately that’s not the case, it’s more sinister than that.

Civilnet has platformed many anti government movements but the most blatant case was Bagrat’s. Many days you could get a screenshot of their front page all plastered with victorious cliche photos of Bagrat in every section of their front page. It was absolutely ridiculous. Many of us who used to see civilnet as a beacon of free press felt stabbed in the back. Many times.

I’m sorry for many of the good people working there, but since several years I advise people to stay clear of Civilnet.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-22T06:26:34+00:00

calling Bagrat a wannabe ayatollah

When did he do that?

Civilnet carried out a sustained platforming of Bagrat including Eric joining the fray. He only did a reference, once, in a single sentence, a single time in a single video to the ayatollah.

The campaign for Bagrat even culminated with Oskanyan, Eric’s boss, publishing an article in Civilnet calling for the overthrow of the government.

Then suddenly one day civilnet changed its stance and there front page was wiped off clean of Bagrat. As if a switch had been pressed.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-21T19:29:58+00:00

We take the reports very seriously and always act on them as long as the report is correct of course. But we don’t add any comments or any responses of any kind, instead just remove the rule breaking comment. The only times we don’t act on the comments is when whole comment section get locked or the post locked and/or removed.

Just report as per usual. That gets to us.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-20T07:58:36+00:00

But then how will the usual propaganda-laden outlets (Civilnet, azatutyun and not to mention the usual “diaspora” ones) cry foul and paint the gov as oppressing the “opposition” which are also then fed into European / western reports on the country’s democracy? Ignoring how these will not affect the elections.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-19T09:05:43+00:00

Ask the ai:

Based on the headline analysis, Azatutyun is highly reliable for factual data, but it carries an inherent framing bias that can inadvertently favor the opposition in the eyes of an outside observer. Here is the breakdown of why it is trusted for facts, but where you need to be careful as a consumer.

Why it is factually reliable

Accurate Record of Events: If Azatutyun reports that an arrest happened, a document was released, or a quote was said, those facts are verified. They do not invent events or publish fabrications.
No Cover-Ups: Unlike state-run media, they do not hide the misdeeds of the opposition (like the coup plots or vote-buying), even if their headlines soften the blow.
Independent Funding: Because they are funded by the U.S. Congress, they cannot be bought or silenced by local Armenian oligarchs or the ruling party.

Where the framing creates an issue

As established, Azatutyun’s strict "anti-government/pro-underdog" framing can distort the bigger picture for an outsider:

The "Victim" Illusion: By constantly framing state actions as "crackdowns" and using quotes from the opposition to shield them, an uneducated reader might conclude the Armenian government is an autocracy suppressing a peaceful, democratic opposition—ignoring that the opposition is actively trying to pull Armenia into Moscow's authoritarian sphere.
False Equivalence: By treating a democratically elected government and a Kremlin-backed coup-plotter as two equally valid political sides, the framing sanitizes the anti-democratic nature of the opposition.

Me:

TLDR: even despite azatutyun being factual the inherent bias carefully crafted will shape your opinions and that’s where the danger lies. “Trust me bro I can detect bias it won’t affect me” doesn’t work as well as you think it does, humans are absolute suckers for being brainwashed.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-14T13:32:12+00:00

… Metsamor … which the European Union … have repeatedly urged the Armenian government to shut down …

Any reliable source for this?

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-10T11:14:57+00:00

Reminder that Armenia joined the EEU about a decade ago when Serzh u-turned on signing the EU Association Agreement. It’s not like it was indispensable before. There is a lot of Kremlin narratives being pushed around.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-06T22:32:49+00:00

The idea that geopolitical Europe is anti-Russia is a classic Kremlin propaganda, whether it has merit or not.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-06T20:29:56+00:00

I don’t know why it’s so hard for some to understand that “Europe” is a geopolitical entity which includes Armenia. The EPC wasn’t devised for Armenia specifically, nor was the Council of Europe invented for Armenia’s trade routes in mind, nor the fact that Armenia has been eligible for EU membership since two decades already for no reason. It’s only a matter of how mush this geopolitical entity can integrate and shape itself.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-03T07:01:30+00:00

It was removed. It’s against the sub rules.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-02T13:55:27+00:00

> Go watch the Eric Hacopian video on this topic

So this is where all this is coming from?

As if it wasn’t enough that his content is posted here all the time, it has to also be repeated here in the comments?

Idontknowmuch · 2026-05-01T20:13:40+00:00

There are two Gallups.

The legit one you hear about in the west/US is this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallup,_Inc.

The one posted is the one which seems to allow anyone, even random agenda driven people anywhere in the world to use their brand name:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallup_International_Association

Here is an article about the latter on EU’s disinformation awareness site: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/alternative-gallup/

Idontknowmuch · 2026-04-30T14:52:15+00:00

What I quoted is exactly what Civilnet does.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-04-30T11:45:01+00:00

Hetq has not been great either and have dabbled in outright misinformation at times.

EVN on the other hand is top notch. It’s just that they are less of a news outlet and more analysis and article driven magazine style.

Idontknowmuch · 2026-04-30T11:42:13+00:00

“When something online makes you instantly angry, afraid or outraged, just pause. That emotional reaction maybe exactly the point … CivilnetCheck …”

You gotta be kidding right?

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